Off-Topic Beauty Thread 2017

[LindaL]

Beyond Omega - can you please share more about your experience with henna? I'm also a curly/wavy girl. I like Jessi Curl products a lot, but they turn my hair very brassy. I mix it up between Deva Curl, Uncle Funky's Daughter, and Kinky Curly. I color my hair with a natural dye I buy at Whole Foods, but have been wanting to try henna for a long time.

Leslie - I'm also kind of frustrated with Paula's Choice. I've been a loyal customer for almost 15 years, and I find her products so ridiculously expensive now. My two teenage kids still use a couple of her products, but I've switched over to Mad Hippie products and my skin actually looks better. I think it was getting irritated from Paul's products. I also have a lot less breakouts since I made the switch.

[Honeydew]

LindaL I like the Mad Hippie antioxidant serum. It smells good and moisturizes very well!

I love Primal Life Organics Banished face wash. It's pricey but lasts quite awhile. It really helps oily skin.

Ok, so I am having tons of static this winter. Nexxus Humectress used to work, but the formula was changed and it doesn't work anymore. Nothing works, dryer sheets, lotion, various leave in conditioners and serums, static guard( sort of worked but had to apply every time I left my house! I do run a humidifier. ugh. I am so tired of it!

[donnamp]

Trixoo - the Olay product is definitely not as "liquid" as the Eucerin, but in spite of it being thicker it doesn't feel heavy on my skin and doesn't make my skin look greasy- I have combo/oily skin and my pores are the bane of my existence - I was able to get a small size of it to try from this kit:

http://www.target.com/p/olay-profess...t/-/A-11233847

I think Amazon used to carry this for a lower price, but it was a good purchase for me as i also got to try the Deep Wrinkle Treatment which was also a winner for me. The cream was, not surprisingly, too heavy for me but I use it on my neck.

Although these products are pricey, if you shop around you can get them for lower prices - I think Amazon may be the best for the full size versions.

LindaL - I have wanted to try Mad Hippie for some time -maybe once I go through the products I have on hand first. I'm trying to practice simplicity this year!

Donna

[Trixoo]

Thanks Donna! I'll give this a try since it would be nice to have another option. I worry that Eucerin will stop making this one moisturizer and then I'll be stuck with no options.

And I don't mind that this one costs more...I find it hilarious (and sad) that my HG moisturizer turns out to be under $10 a bottle when I've spent thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to find products that helped my skin or at least didn't break it out. In the end a cheap moisturizer and even cheaper acne wash did the trick! The only item I use on my skin that can be expensive is Retin A (which is an amazing product).

Thanks for the recommendation!

[cyana]

Originally Posted by beyond.omega

Schmidt's was my first natural deodorant and I never had to try anything else! I first tried the unscented in a tub I liked it, then got the Cedarwood-Juniper scent, and liked it well enough, but I think when I run out I will go back to the unscented. Question: I find I have to melt it in my hands before applying. How does the stick work?

I find the Schmidt's stick is somewhat stiffer/dryer/denser than most traditional stick deodorant/antiperspirants (LOL - you can see I'm struggling with the correct terminology here!). I don't have any trouble with it and if you've used the tub, you would likely make the switch easily. Is the unscented truly unscented (and not some weird "off" smell)? I can definitely see how you might have to melt the tub version in your hands before applying with the dense consistency.

It has been interesting to see how many products I just don't feel the need to purchase anymore.

For those who use Olay products - if you're a Costco member take a look to see what they have. Since I don't use Olay, I don't pay close attention but have seen that line on the shelves regularly.

I haven't noticed any brassiness from the Jessicurl line, but will make note to watch out for that possibility. I'm not a daily hair washer and may not use any product at all on a given day, and that probably helps. Right now with the cold dry weather, "curl collapse" is a challenge for me. I've been playing around with Jessicurl's Awe Inspiraling Spray (by itself most of the time) and Gelebration Spray (when I need an extra boost) to perk things back up (on no-wash days). I'm still finding my way through the in's and out's of curly hair, so every day is an experiment.

[donnamp]

Trixoo -what cleanser do you use? I'm always interested in other options. I like Cerave, Olay Gentle, and the Eucerin redness relief. I do sometimes think simplicity is the key - to a lot of things in life!

Donna

[Trixoo]

Donna -

I wash with Cerave for Normal/oily skin (every once in a while in the dead of winter parts of my skin get dry so I use the one form dry skin, but I can't use that all the time). Then I wash with this clean and clear wash https://www.cleanandclear.com/facial...-acne-cleanser. I do this routine in the morning and before my workout. I washed again the evening, but don't use this product as I use Retin-A instead.

When this was first recommended to me by my derm to handle peri-acne ( which is just an extension of the acne I've been getting since I was 12 years old ), I was skeptical and really didn't want to use something with both petrolatum and menthol, and didn't want to try yet another product that would make my face worse instead of better, since things were bad enough already and I've been around that bend so many times . It has truly resulted in an amazing difference on my face.

[donnamp]

Thanks Trixoo! Glad you found something that works for you!

On the hair care front, I have been breaking all the "curly girls" rules but I get the best results from Dove Oxygen Advanced Hair Series leave in Foam. I tried it b/c I had purchased it for my DD, who didn't end up using it. It really works for me - I get defined curls, no crunchiness and no frizz.

the downside is, I think it has been discontinued as it is very hard to find in stores. Amazon seems to have it:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IPMQRLK...ds=dove+oxygen

I wish I could find another product like this in case it gets harder to find. It has a mousse like texture but not as heavy - definitely lighter and it turns to liquid.

Donna

[beyond.omega]

Originally Posted by LindaL

Beyond Omega - can you please share more about your experience with henna? I'm also a curly/wavy girl. I like Jessi Curl products a lot, but they turn my hair very brassy. I mix it up between Deva Curl, Uncle Funky's Daughter, and Kinky Curly. I color my hair with a natural dye I buy at Whole Foods, but have been wanting to try henna for a long time.

I have very fine 2C black hair which was about 40% gray back in my late 30's when I started hennaing, and now over 80% gray. I started to henna to cover gray, and am so pleased with it I can't imagine not hennaing my hair. In addition to being happy with the color, it conditions my hair so nicely, I don't think I had hair this good even when I was young. Now, even if I didn't have to cover gray I would probably still do henna treatment for the conditioning (but probably not as often). Henna has loosened my curl pattern somewhat and I'm not happy about that. This recent finding about amla, though, is already helping it out. Before henna, I used to go through so many conditioning and styling product to deal with dry frizzy hair, After henna, its become truly wash and go (well, I still need conditioner, but that's it.) Ok, I do still have bad hair days, but on a typical day its great.

It turns out, applying it is kind of a production, but at the same time is easier than I thought. It's not rocket science - more likes making mud pies on your head. Some things to note:

1) It is important to get good quality henna, as it is a basically unregulated industry, and with increasing popularity, there are unscruplous suppliers out there out to make a buck. Not all are - just the few who ruin it for everyone. Many cheap henna, even name brand ones, have chemical added to give a darker look. Look for Body Art Quality (BAQ). I have bought henna from mehandi.com and hennasooq.com, and while they both have serious customer service issues, I can't deny they have good henna. The only one I strongly advise against is Hennasooq's RedRaj. It is supposed to be their premium henna, but it faded on my hair (and henna shouldn't fade.) Don't waste your money. All their other henna are good, as are Mehandi.com's.

2) If you use BAQ henna it is safe to dye over regular dye. I've heard mixed reports about going from henna back to regular dye (some say its fine, including a skilled henna artist I knew and did it for herself, some say no.)

3) Be prepared for the fact that you can't get an exact color. Also, remember you can go darker but not lighter. Henna is permanent and doesn't fade.

4) Finally remember henna will give reddish/auburn shades. You mentioned you are dealing with brassiness. Are you going for blonde? If you want to keep a blonde shade, look into cassia. (I was going for black, so I do the 2-stage henna/indigo treatment.)

After I started into that essay above, I remembered mehandi.com has this free ebook which should answer all your questions. One side note on the ebook though: they recommend waaaaay more henna than I needed. I use 50grams for chin length hair, and only now that it is way past my shoulders do I think I might need more. That's all I can really think of, but if you have questions feel free to ask.

[beyond.omega]

Originally Posted by cyana

I find the Schmidt's stick is somewhat stiffer/dryer/denser than most traditional stick deodorant/antiperspirants (LOL - you can see I'm struggling with the correct terminology here!). I don't have any trouble with it and if you've used the tub, you would likely make the switch easily. Is the unscented truly unscented (and not some weird "off" smell)? I can definitely see how you might have to melt the tub version in your hands before applying with the dense consistency.

It does smell like something, since it is not deoderized or refined (and truely doesn't have fragrance added.) I don't think it smells bad though. If you are shopping at WholeFoods see if you can get a staff member to open one to sample out...

I haven't noticed any brassiness from the Jessicurl line, but will make note to watch out for that possibility. I'm not a daily hair washer and may not use any product at all on a given day, and that probably helps. Right now with the cold dry weather, "curl collapse" is a challenge for me. I've been playing around with Jessicurl's Awe Inspiraling Spray (by itself most of the time) and Gelebration Spray (when I need an extra boost) to perk things back up (on no-wash days). I'm still finding my way through the in's and out's of curly hair, so every day is an experiment.

I think back when I used Jessicurl, after shampoo/conditioner and a light towel dry (just a quick squeeze to keep from dripping everywhere), I applied Confident Coils Styling Solution (about a quarter size dollop), then followed with two or three puddles of Gelebration Spray (I found puddles applied by hand easier to work with than the spray bottle), then finished with a little scrunching. I didn't find the microfiber towel to help, and if anything, it seemed textured, and would break up curl formations way more than my regular cotton terry bath towel. It may have been my towel though (I bought it from Bed Bath and Beyond.) I tried the Awe Inspiraling Spray on day 2 but never quite got the hang of it, and usually ended up with it tied in a bun or ponytail on day 2 and onward, so I tended to daily wash.